Sandals Resorts’ Best Deals

November 25, 2020
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Sandals Resorts: How to find the best deals?!

It’s no secret that a Sandals Resort is for a discerning individual that wants truly the best – and this includes the best deal. While it would be amazing to wave the magic wand and say “the best deal is 100% this,” there’s a bit more to it than that.

Here, I’ll make your life as simple as possible by detailing all the various ways to ensure you have the best available deal!

I’ll detail each one for you below under my three major considerations of timings, where you book, and discounts & offers.

In a rush? Head straight to the bottom of this article for my short summary! 🙂

Timings

When choosing the date for our perfect Sandals vacation, some of us have flexibility of choice, while others have limited option. Let’s take a peek at why the date you visit matters.

Last-Minute Deals

In travel, “last-minute deals” are often a myth. Typically, airfare is much more expensive if not sold out and the best brands are fully booked. Even though Sandals typically keeps an occupancy rate between 90%-100% at most resorts, there is almost always a room or two available last-minute. Things happen – people get sick, someone splits up (oh no!), someone can’t afford the final payment, or perhaps someone had to change dates.

When this happens, these get released back into the live availability and depending on the circumstance, sometimes at a amazing rate! If you’re able to find some airfare to go alongside this (best in the 7-day-to-48-hour-mark), you just might end up with a really amazing deal! Of course, you can also take advantage of any current promotions with these fares!

Off-Season

Colloquially known as “shoulder season” in the industry, this is the off-peak, low-tourism season where the best deals exist. This will typically be when school is in session and outside of major holidays. Generally-speaking for Sandals, I usually place this in the months of late April, May, and the first week or so of June, with costs coming back down in September, October, and some of November.

The cheapest months are usually September and October and this, more than anything, is due to the patterns of hurricane season. I would note that for my clients, these are actually my #1 booking times due to the savings! You might wonder about the risk with this, but there are a few things to consider: when it rains in the Caribbean, it is still usually sunny and hot, hurricanes only happen ever so often and, travel insurance prevails.

While things can happen, the vast majority of people who snatch up savings during this period wonder why they ever worried upon return.

Peak Season Strategy

For those of us that want to go over holidays, summer peak, or any other popular time, hope isn’t lost!

While there is no doubting that we will pay a more premium price for this period, a good place to look to save money is with looking at the days of the week on a calendar. As with many things in life, costs tend to be higher on weekends for both the resort and airfare. If you can arrange your dates to avoid as many Saturdays as possible, you’ll be glad you did so! In my experience, Tuesday/Wednesday to Tuesday/Wednesday tend to be the best value pattern for week-long vacations.

 

Flight Flexibility

Continuing on with the theme above, flexibility can be key – even just 1-day flexibility in many instances! There is more than just the obvious, though.

The first thing that most understand is how the peak days of the week impact flight pricing. However, while this trend holds true most of the time, there are some exceptions.

Airlines actually section the quantity of seats on offer with certain airfare classes. While most people know the difference between economy, premium and business/first classes, many don’t know that economy airfare itself has many variations. Using letter designations such as “O”, “Y”, or “S”, these stand for industry terms such as indicating how far along the spectrum a “discount economy” ticket is versus a “full fare” alternative.

In the same cabin, you can be sat next to someone who paid double (or half) of what you paid, simply due to the above. While the various fare codes come with different privileges (amendable? cancellation? eligible for upgrades?), here’s how it usually happens: so many of each fare code are available in a cabin and as these go, often we are just left with higher-cost fare codes.

How can we avoid this? If you are booking airfare by yourself or even using the Sandals-provided airfare service, make sure to check on 1-2 days on each side of your preferred date. The difference on airfare can sometimes make a surprising difference.

Length of Stay

We already addressed various assumptions so far and the length of stay is another common misconception. In fact at Sandals, it can be more expensive to stay for a shorter period sometimes!

Why?

Nearly all of their promotions require a minimum 3-night stay. This even includes the promotion of up to 65% off bookings. So, if you’re considering a 2-night stay for any reason, know that you’ll likely save money by going for longer.

Of course, keep your eye out for other length-based offers like the occasional “10 nights for the price of 7” which see ever so often!

Where You Book

You know you’re after a spectacular Sandals vacation…but where to book for the best deal?

It’s actually fairly simple, really. You basically have 3 options – book with a live booking engine through a 3rd party (booking.com/Expedia/etc), use a Certified Sandals Specialist (CSS), or book directly on Sandals website.

As for 3rd party option is never a great option (too many middlemen and the price will never be better, but is often worse), I will focus on whether to use a CSS or book direct.

Certified Sandals Specialist (CSS)

Using a Certified Sandals Specialist allows you complete access to someone like myself who can guide you through the entire process and help you at any steps along the way. Those of us with this envied credential know the brand immaculately and can help you make the best choice to delight you or your group.

I have had the privilege of inspecting each of the 15 Sandals and 3 Beaches Resorts in depth and try and visit each one for a re-inspection every 18 months. This allows my clients to know that someone isn’t selling them a random product off a brochure, but that I actually have the first-hand expertise to assist their needs.

In terms of price, while I can’t speak for other CSS, I never charge any upfront fees for my advice and I guarantee that my price will never be higher than Sandals direct.

Direct With Sandals

While many love to use a Certified Sandals Specialist for our deep knowledge, many prefer to do the process on their own time, at their fingertips. Sandals has a wonderful, detailed website and fantastic booking engine which allows future guests to book with ease.

For those who like quick and easy booking processes, the comfort of having booked direct, and like to be in control of their own vacation, this is the perfect option.

Finding Discounts & Offers

Current Promotions

I’ll keep this one simple for one reason: promotions are always changing, so keep your eyes peeled!

Typically, you can expect up to 65% off the brochure price when booking online or with a CSS, plus any seasonal promotions. There are promotions around the year; to see what is currently on, head on over to Sandals’ front page where they will always list the current promotion.

Free Night Offers

A very frequent promotion that Sandals runs is the “free night” special. This typically is for bookings 6 nights or longer, you get a free night – essentially paying 6 nights for the cost of a week. This is usually ran with certain room categories and the best way to see what is available is to check live availability at Sandals homepage or contact your CSS.

Anniversaries

Looking to celebrate an anniversary at Sandals?! Not only is it the perfect location for a special celebration, but Sandals has a special offer just for this.

In fact, Sandals gives a free anniversary night if you are traveling on or near your anniversary date. To take advantage of this, you must first book a Sandals stay and then fill out this form with wedding proof. Sandals will then adjust your balance to reflect this awesome promotion!

Honeymoons

We love a good honeymoon over here! For such a special time in life, the world’s #1 all inclusive resort brand is the place to be.

In fact, honeymoon couples get extra value in the form of Sandals’ Free Honeymoon Package which includes such luxuries as a wedded bliss breakfast, rose petal turndown, and a special welcome.

Fun fact: Saint Lucia is my most booked honeymoon island! 

Weddings

When it comes to a Caribbean wedding, Sandals is the place to be. The offer here is truly astounding.

Sandals offers couples the opportunity for a free wedding whenever they book a minimum of 3-night stay.

There’s so much to see here, so make sure to take a peek here.

Sandals Select

Returning guests are actually the lifeblood of Sandals Resorts. In fact, Sandals has one of the highest, if not the highest return guest percentage of any brand. This speaks for itself!

Visitors returning to paradise are certainly rewarded. Sandals has a dedicated program entitled the Sandals Select Reward Program. With this program, it is easy to quickly rack up Sandals Select points that can be redeemed for anything from a couples massage to an entirely free stay.

Sandals Credit Card Promotion

As a final note, for the credit card benefit enthusiasts, Sandals has you covered with their Sandals Visa Signature card!

Benefits such as $$$ on statement credit, travel benefits, and a point system that quickly accumulates, there are a plethora of benefits. Similar to Sandals Select, card users can accumulate points that can be redeemed for a wide variety of Sandals and Beaches Resort merchandise, experiences, and stays.

Quick Summary

Deals for Sandals and Beaches Resorts come in all shapes and sizes.

My top, quick recommendations for the best deal?

  1. Travel outside of the school term and if not, minimize the number of Saturdays and Sundays in your travel date range to save money.
  2. If you want personalized service talk to a Certified Sandals Specialist and if not, book direct using Sandals superb website.
  3. Always peek at Sandals’ website homepage to see what the current promotion is and make sure your stay qualifies!

Want to know which resort is ranked #1? Not a problem.

Thanks for stopping by; I hope you found this information useful! If I can be of any assistance, don’t hesitate to get in touch!

Sandals Resorts
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